Daughter: “Mom, is it true people used to pay to see elephants and other animals perform in the circus? The circus we see only has people in it.”Mother: “Yes, honey.”Daughter: “Why did they do that? The people weren’t good enough?”Mother: “No, I don’t think people realized how they treated the animals. Maybe some of them didn’t care.”Daughter: “Did you ever go to that kind of circus?”Mother: “Yes, when I was young and didn’t know better. It has been illegal for many years though. The only way to see animals now is in the wild.”

Son: “My history teacher told us people used to eat animals. Is that true?”Father: “Yes, son. Your grandfather ate animals when he was a child.”Son: “Why? They didn’t have anything else to eat?”Father: “No, they did. That’s just what people used to do. It was considered acceptable.”Son: “I can’t imagine anyone eating animals. That makes me sad.”Father: “Fortunately, people don’t do it anymore, son.”Son: “How did it stop?”Father: “There was something back then called animal rights activists. They used to protest the abuse of animals. Eventually they informed everyone and people started to change and then the government made it against the law to harm any animals for any purpose, just like people.”

Daughter: “Hey Mom, is it true that people used to wear clothing made of animals and do really mean experiments on them?”Mom: “Who told you that?”Daughter: “Marissa’s grandma told me that people used to wear animals’ fur on their coats. They let you do that?”Mom: “No, not me. But yes, there was a time when people actually wore clothing made of animals but that was a long time ago. I don’t know anybody who does that anymore.”Daughter: “I’m glad I didn’t live back then. I can’t imagine seeing a coat made of animals.”Mom: “Well, there were a lot of people who spoke up back then and ended those practices just like people ended slavery. I’m sure you’ll learn about it in school. Fortunately, we live in a much more humane world now.”

Andrew Kirschner, Ed.D., is a grassroots vegan animal rights activist. He writes a zero-profit blog, Kirschner’s Korner, to help raise awareness about issues affecting the global community to make the world a more humane place. To receive new articles via email, enter your email in the “Follow Blog Via Email” link at the top right of the blog.